No abstract

The use of IR4.0 digital technology, computers and smartphones are gradually changing the scope of employment. This requires special education students with impaired hearing who are enrolled in the Special Skills Certificate programmeat Malaysian polytechnics to acquire and master digital skills that will meetthe employer’sneeds. Therefore, this study is conducted to identify the factors that affect the level of achieving employability 4.0 of impaired hearing special education students in Malaysian polytechnics,from the perspectivesof lecturers and employers. Quantitativemethods are used in carrying out the study, and the data areanalysed using the SPSS V26. The research instrument in the form of a questionnaire is distributed to the respondents and the contents are verified by two experts. This study involvesa total of71 Special Skills Certificate lecturers and 84 employers who have offered industrial training to the special education students with impaired hearing, whouse computers and smartphones in their workplace.The analysis requirement test was carried out using a normality test andfound that the entire data are normally distributed. Here are the results of thedescriptiveanalysis:fromthe lecturer's perspective,the attitude of impaired hearing special education studentstowards the use of digital technologyscore a high average mean value of 4.18; from the employer's perspective,the required digital technology facilities ofimpaired hearing special education students score ahigh average value mean 4.36.Meanwhile, the results by inferential analysis using independent t-testshowing a significant difference inteaching experience by lecturers.Students canexplore the content of the subjects through the use of software and digital technology applicationsbased on their lecturers’ experience in teaching.Therefore, the factors that affect the level of achievingemployability 4.0 should always be in line with IR4.0 technology that meets the needs of employers. The findings could be used another researcher to identify the other factors affecting the level of achieving employability 4.0 of hearing-impaired special education studentsin Malaysian polytechnic to keep student’s employability 4.0 aligned with the employers wished.

This study was conducted to analyse the readiness of Vocational College (KV) lecturers in teaching and learning. The outcome-based education (OBE) approach in vocational colleges brings about changes to the vocational education system in line with the transformation of TVET. OBE is a method of teaching and curriculum design that focuses on learning outcomes. This method has completely replaced the conventional method, which is more centred on examination alone. However, the extent to which KV lecturers understand and are willing to practice OBE in curriculum delivery is yet to be discovered. This study was a quantitative study that used a set of questionnaires as a research instrument. The respondents of this study consisted of 368 lecturers of KV throughout Malaysia. Data collected using questionnaire instrument were analysed using Statistical Package for The Social Science (SPSS) software. The results from the analysis of the study data demonstrated that the level of understanding of KV lecturers on the implementation of OBE approach was at a high level with a mean score of 3.07. Meanwhile, the level of readiness of KV lecturers on the implementation of OBE approach was at a moderate level, which has a mean score of 2.82.

This study is a qualitative study that used structured interviews to explore the elements of competence required by agricultural instructors in Malaysian agricultural vocational colleges. A literature review was conducted to identify current issues related to teaching staff. In addition, an analysis of relevant documents was carried out to ensure that the issues to be discussed are appropriate to the study conducted besides establishing an appropriate interview protocol. Interviews were conducted in groups; better known as focus group discussions. These interviews successfully explored the views, experiences and FGDs of encouraging group dynamics to generate data. This study is related to the competency required by agricultural educators. The findings of this interview have successfully explored the elements of competence required by agricultural educators. Competency elements of skills and knowledge consist of essential agricultural areas such as fertilisation activities, agricultural technology, automation, fertigation, seed technology, planting sites, produce marketing, soil science, pathology, vegetable and fruit cultivation, yield harvesting, pesticide management and irrigation systems. Behavioural competence comprises the elements of values, social roles, self-image, motives and traits. In addition, this study explores the constraints faced by teachers in achieving competencies. The findings of the study have successfully explored the elements of teaching staff competencies and constraints faced. It is hoped the results of this study can be used to produce an instrument to study the competence of agriculture educators.

This study aimed to investigate the empirical evidence regarding the validity and reliability of a questionnaire on lifelong learning skills using Rasch Model Analysis in pilot study. There is purposive sampling applied in this pilot study. Seventy (n=70) respondents in service were enrolled in this study had completed the questionnaire. The content was validated by four experts in the field of Design and Technology (DNT). Data analysis was completed using WINSTEPS software version 3.69.1.11 whereby the findings revealed that the lifelong learning instruments possessed high reliability within five constructs. Based on the Person Reliability 0.98, and Item Reliability of 0.91 it was concluded that the instruments of lifelong learning skills are reliable and can be accepted. After being subjected to Rasch Model Analysis, there are thirty-five (35) items needed to be omitted while others were retained. It is hoped that by ensuring good reliability and validity of the instruments, researches will be able to adopt or adapt this quality instrument in their research. Thus, this study shows that the Rasch Measurement model can analyse the truth result, reliable, validate the good instruments, and proceed in their actual research.